Ever after arming themselves with the best marketing tool – videos – many eCommerce businesses and marketers struggle to engage customers and produce results.
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Nowadays, video production and marketing alone doesn’t guarantee eCommerce success. Using the right kind of video(s) along with the best tactics will win you more visitors, leads, and sales.
The younger generation has spoken their mind. Over 87% of GenZ wishes to watch ads or videos that show someone talking about a product. Furthermore, 64-85% of all eCommerce website visitors are more likely to purchase a product after watching a video on the page.
That’s because people want to know about a product and gather all the necessary information before they make a buying decision.
Let’s take a look at the types of product videos you can employ to delight the target audience. Plus, the ways these videos can be used to increase sales.
What Is a Product Video?
A product video allows the viewers to see, understand, and appreciate the appearance, features, and functioning of a product without having to handle it. The video is a visual tour that helps brands convey the best qualities of their products.
Product videos have gained wide acceptance because it mimics the physical store experience. Plus, these videos personalize and humanize the product experience.
Product photos or description text can never match the level of detail that a video can present. Moreover, videos are better at engaging the audience and persuading them to move down the sales funnel.
Thinking of creating product videos for your eCommerce website? Here are a few types of videos to consider.
Types of Product Videos
The product video, whatever type you choose, must awaken curiosity and a sense of wonder. It must be engaging and compelling. It must work at the subconscious level to encourage the viewers to take the action you want them to take.
Here are the popular types of product videos for an eCommerce business:
Product Tour Video: This is your basic product video that explains the product, lists its features, and highlights its benefits. Ideally, the product tour videos must be under five minutes to hold the viewers’ attention until the end. For products with numerous features and complex functioning, the video should showcase only those that aid the viewers in making the buying decision.
Story Video: Since all eCommerce businesses use product videos, it’s time to think outside-the-box. There are some colorful stories behind the creation of some iconic products. With a story video, you can talk about how an idea was conceived, challenges faced by the designing team, how the product can change lives, etc. You can get creative by using a whiteboard video to narrate the history and explain the product and its features to the audience. The story videos will help generate interest in the product and induce the audience to learn more about it.
How-to Video: In these videos, you go beyond just showing the product. You demonstrate the usage and show some of its features and functions in action. Creating a how-to video is exceedingly important in the case of complex products. A how-to video is a display of proof that the product works. Hence, such videos also help establish credibility, which leads to more sales.
Installation Video: This type of video mostly works where no external or technical help is needed to install a product. The product installation videos need to be short; ideally less than 3-5 minutes. These videos show how to set up a product before using it. Even if the installation is too complex for the buyer, understanding the process alone will make the viewers feel empowered.
Customer Testimonial Video: Testimonial videos by satisfied customers give a level of trust and credibility that prospective customers won’t find in written reviews. Viewers will respond favorably if they see a customer share their before and after experience and speak about how the product changed their lives. A testimonial video works because it depicts the real-life experience with the product.
How to Use Product Videos to Boost Sales
Publish Product Videos on the Website
Videos on product pages boost conversions in multiple ways. It showcases the creative side of the business. Having a video of the product increases credibility and enhances trust. It sends out a message to the prospective customers that the eCommerce website is open about providing all necessary information about a product that’s required to make the right decision. The benefits don’t stop here; product video on the web page:
- Engages the visitors and holds them longer on the page.
- Delivers the message you want to convey efficiently and effectively.
- Helps you create a bond with the visitors.
- Helps you come across as a reliable and trustworthy eCommerce business.
- Encourages repeat visits and builds long-term relationships.
Ecommerce businesses that don’t have videos on their site must know this. Websites that include video content see a 300% increase in their conversion rate. Furthermore, studies show that nearly 31% of people are more likely to buy a product after watching a product video.
Since ancient times, we have been strangely fascinated with stories. A product video with a well-presented storyline and message can arrest the audience’s attention and influence their actions.
Watching a product video is the next best thing to physically examining a product. The video content helps the viewer visualize the product.
Moreover, prospective customers need certain information about the product to make a buying decision. The product videos share all the necessary information and some more. Plus, a well-made video makes the audience understand how the product helps solve a problem they are facing.
Create a YouTube Channel for the eCommerce Website
Experts predict that soon nearly 82% of all web traffic will move towards video content. And, there is no bigger platform for videos than YouTube.
According to Forbes, the younger generation (Millennials and the GenZ) check YouTube at least once a day. Furthermore, the platform has more than 2 billion monthly active users worldwide.
Starting a YouTube channel and posting product videos regularly can drive more traffic to the eCommerce website and also boost sales. At one location, you have more than 2 billion active users. You’re creating awareness of your products and establishing credibility and trust with a single move.
YouTube is a popular destination to watch various types of product videos. It’s a habit of many people to search for product tour videos, product unboxing, how-to videos, or product review videos before making a purchase.
The success of the video marketing role of YouTube in boosting sales depends on developing a solid strategy. The platform will provide you with the best tools and features to market your product video. But, before you post your first product video, here are a few things to remember.
- Declare the niche of the product.
- Identify the target audience of the product video.
- Create a suitable title and description for the video.
- Keep the video short and include an effective call to action.
- Optimize the video.
Posting product videos on YouTube also revolutionizes the brand image. It encourages viewers to become subscribers, which may eventually lead to long-term relationships and repeat sales.
Post Product Videos on Popular Social Media Platforms
In the last 10 to 15 years, we have seen a fundamental change in how brands have shifted their focus from product promotion on television to social media. For eCommerce businesses, spreading video content on social media platforms is indispensable.
Using video content on social media enhances the reach of the product, creates awareness, and boosts traffic. Plus, the majority of social media users prefer videos to other forms of content. The finding that video content generates 1200% more shares than text and image on social media, establishes the dominance of videos.
Most marketers, more than 68% of them, consider social media a vital part of a video marketing campaign.
If you don’t have a video marketing strategy for social media, now is the time to start. But, if you already have one, make sure it’s platform-specific.
Product videos that find traction on YouTube might not perform well on Instagram or Facebook. Most social media platforms demand a specific format. For example, many social media users like authentic videos. You can shoot a simple product video with any handheld device, use a video editor to make it presentable, and upload it to the social media platform of your choice.
Developing platform-specific product videos can help you tap the full potential of the social media platform.
Email Product Videos to Your Subscribers
Contrary to some people’s belief, email marketing never lost its charm. It’s still widely used by businesses to keep subscribers in loop.
Lately, we’re seeing a resurgence of email as a tool to drive traffic, boost conversions, and increase sales. This has become possible by combining video marketing with email marketing. Every study and survey on this subject has arrived at the same conclusion.
According to a report, emails that contain videos see a 278% higher ROI than text-only emails. Similarly, businesses that use videos along with other forms of content witness faster growth than others.
Video email marketing is crucial because it takes your product directly to the prospective customer’s inbox. The right type of product video delivered at the right time can nurture the customer through the various stages of the sales funnel.
Here are some best practices that will help you convert leads into sales, and existing customers to repeat customers:
- Send a product video along with the ‘back in stock’ notification.
- Personalize the video email to create an instant connection with the customer.
- Offer exclusive rewards and discounts to customers in your video email
- Use after-sales how-to videos via emails to add value to your products.
- Send social proof videos to remove all doubts and increase sales.
Using Product Videos in Chat Conversations
There are several ways to list your products. You might be familiar with social media, emails, and apps. But, there is one underused area; we call it conversational commerce.
Although the majority of online eCommerce customers have made an easy transition from traditional stores to online stores, most of them still miss the personal interaction with the staff. The store assistants are always there to help you display the products, explain the product features, and clarify all your doubts.
Integrating a live chat feature on your eCommerce website can allow you to provide instant customer service. The benefits of live chat are many. For one, the sales assistant or customer service staff can answer all queries regarding a product. Additionally, they can give suggestions and receive live feedback then and there.
Since eCommerce stores serve the customers around the clock, a personal assistant may not be available for interaction with visitors 24/7. Chatbots are just the right workaholics that eCommerce businesses need to take customer service to the next level.
Even basic chatbots are programmed to deal with common questions. Based on the customer’s queries, the chatbots can give product recommendations, share product descriptions and specifications, and post product videos to engage and convince the visitors to buy the product.
Final Thoughts
Effectively implementing the above-mentioned product video marketing strategies will engage the audience, educate them about the product, build trust with your brand, and finally convert them into buyers.
Finally, never deploy any video in your marketing effort unless it is search engine optimized and mobile-friendly.
Author bio:
Cristian Stanciu is a freelance video editor, owner and post-production coordinator of Veedyou Media – a company offering video editing services to videographers, marketing agencies, video production studios or brands all over the globe. I can catch up with him on his blog or on LinkedIn.